Ezekiel 38:18-22

God's Final Judgments.

“And it will come about in that day when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that my fury will come up into my nostrils, for I have spoken, in my jealousy and in my wrath. Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth, will shake at my presence, and the mountains will be thrown down, and the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground, and I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains,” says the Lord Yahweh, “every man's sword will be against his brother, and I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood, and I will rain on him, and on his hordes, and on the many peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.”

God will respond in anger and fury, and great concern for His people. This is no ordinary anger, it is expressed in strong terms. He is here dealing with what has been at the root of all the worlds ills. God's final wrath will be revealed against sin and all involved with it. There is no mention of warfare or opponents for Gog. God is their opponent, and He does not fight, He pours out judgments.

It is quite possible that a Persian army that had come to collect tribute had experienced extremely adverse weather conditions like those described in the Book of Joshua, when the very sun had seemed to stand still (Joshua 10:11). It is even possible that they suffered a plague as in the days of Isaiah 37:36, and that there was dissension in the camp. But here we find a typical apocalyptic scene where not man but God brings judgment on His enemies. Earthquake (Isaiah 24:18; Joel 3:16; Haggai 2:6), Yahweh's sword (Ezekiel 5:2; Ezekiel 5:17; Ezekiel 6:3; Ezekiel 11:8; Ezekiel 12:14; Ezekiel 14:17; Ezekiel 14:21; Ezekiel 21:3; Ezekiel 21:9; Ezekiel 21:28; Ezekiel 30:24 - which results in panic and the allies killing each other), pestilence and blood (Ezekiel 5:17; Ezekiel 14:19; Ezekiel 28:23), great hailstones, fire and brimstone (Genesis 19:24; Exodus 9:23; Psalms 11:6; Psalms 105:32; Isaiah 30:30; Isaiah 30:33; Isaiah 34:9), all these will be brought against Gog, causing the whole earth, both man and beast, indeed all created things, to shake in apprehension. This is a scene typical of the last judgments (Revelation 6:12; Revelation 8:5; Revelation 8:7; Revelation 9:18; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 14:19; Revelation 16:21; Revelation 19:21 see also Isaiah 2:10; Zephaniah 1:2). It is not war but man facing the judgment of God.

Notice the magnitude of the earthquake. ‘The mountains will be thrown down, and the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.' All the things that bring awe on men, the great mountains, the precipices and ravines, and men's most powerful constructions, built to resist anything, all will collapse to the ground. Nothing can stand against Him, everything will be made level before God.

‘I will call to all my mountains for a sword against him.' The sword of man will not be needed. Nature itself will be called on to take God's side, used by God as a sword, and causing the terror and madness that makes men destroy each other with the sword.